Even Through the Dark, There is Light
by DreamsComeFromtheHeart
Summary: Adroid saga AU. Son Kimiko, caught up in the war waged between the androids, goes back to the present timeline with her best friend Mirai to try to change their friends fates. OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Even through the Dark, There is Light**

_A/N: _Hey guys, I decided to rewrite this. I thought, the pacing's bad, the timing's off, Kimiko's kinda a Mary-Sue, and it's just bad in general. It was my first story... I hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

><p>Son Kimiko was six months old when it happened.<p>

She noticed her Daddy had been getting sicker and sicker; he coughed often, he didn't spar anymore, and there were some days when he didn't even get out of bed.

Her black haired father always seemed to make time for her and her nii-chan, bed ridden or no. whether it was fishing, walking, or laying together on the bed while Mommy read a story, he was a constant in her life.

The baby girl rather enjoyed being carried around and cooed at; it didn't matter if it was Mommy, nii-chan Gohan, Uncle Krillin, Auntie Bulma. She simply loved affection, especially when Auntie Bulma came over because that meant playing with her best friend, Trunks. Today, however, nii-chan Gohan had taken her out fishing. The sky had exploded in hues of reds, oranges, and yellows over their tiny wooden boat that Daddy had made himself. Gohan watched as his imouto leaned over partly to make sure she didn't fall in and also to admire how much she looked like her father- onyx eyes, a small ski-slope nose, strong jaw line, slight tan, and most of all, her hair. Her coal black locks stuck out in random places, untamable even by her mother's hand. Already, it was to her elbows; she'd need a haircut soon.

"I think that's enough for today," Gohan murmured as he lugged his fifth monster-sized fish into their boat. It was a wonder the boat didn't sink. "Let's go see Daddy, Kim-chan."

Kimiko bubbled as Gohan dragged their boat to the modest shed, giving the baby a little ride. He then lugged the fish to the small cooler outside and picked up his imouto. "You want to see Daddy, Kim-chan?" he cooed, lifting her in the air.

The six month old half-saiyan squealed. It had been a hot day, prompting her mother to dress her in only a diaper. The older demi-saiyan blew a raspberry on her tummy, making her squeal louder and grab his hair.

"Ow! Strong grip you got there…" Gohan rubbed his head and chuckled as he lowered her against his chest, allowing the female demi-saiyan to circle her pudgy hand around his neck, making herself comfortable.

As Gohan walked around the front of the house, he noticed three things:

One. Everyone was gathered at his house, and it obviously wasn't a cookout.

Two. Everyone looked heartbroken.

Three. His mother's wails could be heard from inside.

"Bulma? What's happening?" the older half-saiyan asked his godmother. Instead of answering, the blunette choked back a sob and buried her face into Yamcha's chest, the latter of whom looked like he would cry any minute.

Then it hit him.

"Yamcha… is he-"

The tear leaking from the other's eyes was proof enough. Gohan ran inside and up the stairs, throwing open the door. The warmly decorated room held their mother, Uncle Krillin, and Piccolo-sensei.

"Piccolo, tell me it isn't true," the male demi-saiyan commanded, turning to Krillin when the Namek looked away. "Krillin?"

As if in answer, the two moved away from the bed to show Mommy kneeling at the head of the bed, sobbing her heart out.

There Daddy lay, cold and lifeless.

Kimiko, once she spotted Daddy, gurgled and reached out to him with a smile. Gohan obliged after a moment's hesitation, setting her on the saiyan's chest as he stared at the corpse. "Dadadada!" she bubbled.

A few moments passed before the baby started to notice something was wrong. For one, her Daddy didn't reach out to her like he usually did. Also, he was rather… cold. She beat her fists against his rock hard chest, as if demanding he wake up. When he didn't oblige, the infant started to throw a tantrum. Mommy was quick to console her, tears still leaking from her eyes.

"Piccolo-sensei," Gohan spoke after a minute. "The DragonBalls?"

The green skinned man only shook his head. "His death was from an illness... a natural cause."

The sun set, the light truly fading from the cold body in the room.

* * *

><p><em>Six Months Later<em>

The Son household was barely hanging on without its patriarch. ChiChi had gone into the workforce, allowing her son to enroll in school while the Ox King watched little Kimiko. Even through hard times, the former housewife never let her son abandon his education.

One Sunday, Gohan was playing with the baby half-saiyan as ChiChi cleaned. The matriarch had started to take on a haggard appearance; her hair was starting to silver, her eyes always had a darkened quality to them and she never seemed to truly smile anymore, but she was hanging on for her children.

"Hey guys! We bought some new toys for Kimiko!" Krillin and Piccolo walked through the door, not even bothering to knock.

"Hello Chi. Do you need help with the dishes?" the Namek's deep voice rumbled from the kitchen, making Kimiko jump up in delight. She pulled herself up on the coffee table and started hobbling towards the kitchen as fast as her little legs would allow, determined to find the two familiar voices.

"Uncey Uncey!" she squealed, walking straight into Krillin who chuckled and picked her up.

"Oh!" he grunted as he lifted her into the air. "You're a heavy one, Kim-chan!"

"Pickwe!" she whined as she caught sight of the green skinned man. "Pickwe!"

"I think she wants you, Piccolo," the monk laughed and made to pass the demi-saiyan to Piccolo. "Come on, don't be shy."

"She likes you," ChiChi agreed as she watched him hesitate. She had long since accepted the fact that both her children looked up to the alien. "It's okay."

So Piccolo made an awkward cradle with his arms (which a smiling ChiChi corrected) as Krillin handed over the one year old Kimiko, pleased with the fact that she had gotten what she wanted, balled her fists into Piccolo's gi and drifted to sleep. The blushing Namek stared at the child in his arms, perplexed at how she had taken a liking to him.

"I'll finish the dishes," the female faked a smile and set to work.

"Sure I can't help ya, Chi?" the shortest asked.

"I'm sure. Thank you, though. I really appreciate you two stopping by to check on us."

"It's no problem," the guardian replied, awkwardly rocking Kimiko back and forth. "Is Gohan in the living room?"

"Yes, why don't you go see him? He'd love to talk to you."

"Sure," when he made to untangle the baby's hands from his gi, the monk smirked.

"If you move her now, she'll be upset. I'm sure you don't want to deal with an upset baby."

"Right… I'll be back soon."

Once he had left the room, a comfortable silence blanketed the room. "You know, you're not alone Chi," Krillin started, watching as the widow methodically scrubbed at the dish. "We're all behind you to help in any way possible."

"I know," she sighed. "Sometimes it's just so hard… I expect to see him walking through the front door and play with our baby girl, to kiss me on the cheek and ask me how my day was. The home is empty, the atmosphere morbid, and the bed cold…"

By this time, the monk had turned the exhausted wife around and placed his arms around her waist. "You're never alone," he reaffirmed.

ChiChi opened her mouth to reply when a beam shot through the window and the light fell from her eyes.

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><p>AN: if you guys are wondering, my username used to be Princess-of-all-saiyins, I just changed it since I'm not really in this fandom anymore…

And maybe I want to annoy my best friend. *smirk*

Anyways, this is POAS with a new username, so no, I did not steal the OC. :P

Reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Even through the Dark, There is Light**

A/N: A combination of Governor's School, volunteering, and heat (it reached 102 today and my room has no air conditioning) has kept me from writing :I

Oh, and there will be a BIGGGGG time skip, just so ya know…. Also, since this is an AU, I took the liberty of tampering with their ages.

_Review Replies:_

_WhoRuntheWorldGirls- _It's quite alright, I understand :3 I'm glad to be back!

_MRMenaMRM- _Thank you :3 As I have told you through pm, I'm rewriting all my early stories, which include all my DBZ chapter fics and quite possibly one of my one-shots. Not really sure if I'll edit that yet :P

_Mistress of Butterflies- _Yes, I'm back! Awww. That means I'm off to a good start ;P

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ :I

Warnings: character deaths and some violence… Aw :I

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><p><em>Three Years Later<em>

"Bulma, I'm home!" Gohan entered Capsule Corp, looking for his surrogate mother. "Bulma? I have groceries!"

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan!" a blob of black and pink came from nowhere, tackling the demi-saiyan to the ground. "You home!"

"Yeah baby, I'm home," Gohan smiled and hugged his sister. "How are you?"

"I good girl, nii-chan! I good for Bu-Bu!" she said proudly, puffing out her chest.

"Good girl. I'm proud of you," the last Son male grinned and settled his sister on his hip. "What do you say we go see Bu-Bu, imouto?"

"'Kay!"

So the two made their way to the lab, where Gohan figured Bulma was. As he opened the door, he was met with the blunette curled up on the floor, her lost Prince's warrior outfit pressed to her nose. Tears were leaking out her eyes in slow rivulets, and sniffles escaped occasionally.

"Um… Kim-chan, why don't you go see Trunksie for awhile?" Gohan suggested, setting the toddler down. Thanks to her short attention span, she complied.

"Bulma? Bulma," Gohan said softly, kneeling down beside her. "It's happening again, isn't it?"

The grown woman climbed into the teenager's lap, pressing her face into the crook of his neck.

"I miss him…. So much…" she whispered brokenly.

"I know," was all Gohan said as he slowly rocked her back and forth. They had been in this position many a time—it was really Gohan who held the house together, who pushed forward when no one else would.

He was their savior.

After awhile, the tears stopped flowing. Slowly, Bulma sat up and wiped what was left of her cryfest before smiling shakily at Gohan. "I don't know what we'd do without you, Gohan."

"Oh… I dunno about that…" the demi-saiyan ducked his head while a light blush painted his cheeks.

"It's true," the blunette insisted. "You're the backbone of this family."

"Well… I just love you guys. I never want anyone to lay a finger on you," he said simply. "I will protect you, Trunks, and Kimiko with my life."

"I know Gohan. I love you for it," she replied, finally calm and collected. With a sigh, she got up and dropped a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to work on the time machine some more."

"Do you think it'll be ready soon?"

"In a matter of years, it should be."

* * *

><p><em>Eleven Years Later<em>

Now twenty-five, Son Gohan was a handsome man.

His hair was cut short, he had a scar running down his face, he was missing an arm, and there was a permanent crease between his eyebrows from worry.

Though he worried all the time, he tried to act happy for the sake of his family. It made them love him even more.

"Gohan! You're home!" a fifteen-year-old Kimiko squealed, skidding into the front hallway. Her dark waist-length hair billowed behind her and her onyx eyes were alight with delight as her thin (too thin, food rations were small the past couple months) body hurtled toward him.

"Hey there imouto- OOF!" he laughed as he was tackled to the ground, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Geez Kim-chan, why are you so heavy? Lay off the mochi!"

"_Gohan!" _she wailed, sitting up. "That isn't a very nice thing to say! Besides, you know how short we've been on food!"

"Sorry, sorry…"

"Is that Gohan I hear?" a distinctly male voice called from the main room.

"In here, Trunks! Hurry, your girlfriend is trying to kill me!"

"GOHAN!"

"Ouch, Kim-chan!" the older demi-saiyan winced and rubbed his cheek. "I was just kidding…"

"Hello Gohan," the seventeen year old boy walked in.

"Hey Trunks," Gohan smiled as he stood up and placed his little sister on his back. "Ready to go?"

"Whenever you are. Where are we going?"

"To the amusement park! Nii-chan promised to take me on my first roller coaster ride!" Kimiko chirped, clinging to the adult like a monkey.

"Yes, Kim-chan here wants to go on the biggest one they have…" he rolled his eyes. "You are my witness Trunks. Remember that I told her to start with something simpler when she's puking her guts out."

"You have a deal."

"I'm not going to puke my guts out!"

The two male demi-saiyans laughed at the girl's pout as they flew off.

OOO

"It's gonna drop it's gonna drop it's gonna- AH~!" Kimiko grabbed onto the two males' hands in a death grip.

True to their word, they got on the biggest ride there. Trunks and Gohan sat on either side of the fifteen year old with bored expressions while she busted their eardrums with her screams of delight.

Soon (all too soon for Kimiko's taste) they reached the last drop.

"Trunks!" Gohan called over the wind as the cart started climbing. "You feel that?"

"Yeah…" Trunks looked over Kimiko's (who was obliviously grinning like an idiot) head. "What should we do?"

"We should- GRAB HOLD OF THE CART!"

The two males flew out of the cart and lifted it up in the sky… just as the tracks exploded.

"Gohan? Trunks! What just happened?" Kimiko started to panic. Never before had she encountered a real –life attack. Sure, Gohan and Trunks trained her for the threat but she never imagined she would be facing it.

"Kimiko, hold on!" Gohan shouted as they lowered the carriage to the ground. As soon as it was situated, the other passengers ran for it. Kimiko stood on jelly legs and attempted to get out of the car.

"Come on Kim-chan, you're fine," Trunks huffed as he helped her. Above, Gohan circled around to try and find the enemy. "Come on, I'm going to get you somewhere safe."

"What about Gohan?" she panicked. "His arm! He can't fight by himself!"

"I'll help him as soon as you're secure," the purple haired teen answered calmly as he pushed her behind a carousel. "Stay here and keep your power level _down. _Do not try to help, you're too weak."

"Trunks, I can fight!"

"No you can't! You can't fight this, Kimiko! You're too weak!"

"I'm _not _too weak! Trunks, THEY KILLED MOM!"

"Gohan and I can handle it! We will avenge Chi for you!"

"Trunks, how would you feel if you had to sit out and watch the only family you have left fight the people who killed your family? Who killed VEGETA?"

"…The second you are in trouble, you call for help. You stay behind me and Gohan, okay?" Trunks grunted as they both lifted in the air.

"Fine."

"Kimiko, what are you doing?" Gohan called as he continued circling the perimeter. "You can't fight!"

"I'm tired of everyone saying that!" she huffed. "I can _too _fi- Argh!"

"_Kimiko!" _the males shouted as she flew out of the sky into the carousel.

"I don't think you _can_ fight, little girl," a silky male voice whispered in her ear. "But you're cute for trying."

"Get your hands off of her!" the purple haired demi-saiyan growled as he tried to push the mystery man off.

"No thanks, we're having a chat," the man said, unfazed as he pushed Trunks. The seventeen-year-old landed against the ferris wheel and was knocked unconscious. "What's your name, girl?"

"What's it to you?" Kimiko choked out, clearly terrified.

"Oh, just curious," he smiled. "Am I not allowed to know?"

"No, you are not," Gohan growled as he grabbed the man by the shoulder and pulled him off. "You keep your hands off my little sister, Seventeen."

"Please. Like you're gonna stop me," Seventeen scoffed. "Remember who tore off your arm."

"Yes, I remember all too well," the twenty-five year old growled.

"Also remember who killed your family," the black haired man smirked. "They barely even put up a fight. Pitiful, the lot of them-"

"Seventeen," a blonde female arrived on the scene. "Are you done yet?"

"No, Eighteen. You know how I love to play with my food."

"Hurry," Eighteen whined. "We passed a boutique on the way here. It looks like a good one."

"Well, why don't you go shopping while I finish off here?" he suggested in a bored tone.

"Because I need to make sure you finished them off. You're really sloppy about that."

"Enough!" Gohan yelled, throwing the male into the air. "I'm tired of your games!"

"If you insist~"

As the fight in the sky was progressing, Kimiko slowly got up.

Apparently, not slowly enough.

"Where do you think you're going?" Eighteen asked, charging up a ki attack and aiming it at the terrified fifteen-year-old.

"Please, don't kill me," Kimiko pleaded.

"Why wouldn't I?" the blonde cocked her head to the side. She was beautiful. Deadly.

"Because I… I'll do anything! Please, just don't kill me or them… they're all I have left," the younger begged, tears streaming heavily down her face.

"All the more reason to kill all of you."

"Please! I'll do anything!"

"Hmm…. Anything?" the enemy repeated, looking up from inspecting her nails. "How far are you willing to go?"

"As far as you want… just don't kill them…" the female demi-saiyan whispered brokenly, looking down. She had given up on asking for all their lives.

"Seventeen, let's go! We have the girl!" Eighteen called out.

"Oh, we do, do we?" he asked with a smirk. "Alright then. Gohan, it seems as if your little sister wants to come with us, and who are we to deny her? Maybe you two will cross paths again…. In Hell," he snickered as he flew towards his sister, leaving Gohan stunned. "Goodbye, dear!"

"No! Kimiko!" It was too late. They had already disappeared off into the horizon. "Kim-chan…"

Gohan looked at the ground, tears threatening to fall. "I failed my family… _again. _Why can't I protect them, just once? I'm just a failure…"

"Gohan?" a groggy voice called from the ferris wheel. "Gohan? Is that you? Where's Kimiko?"

"She was taken, Trunks," the older male said, staring hard at the ground, all traces of emotion wiped clean. "She was taken by those androids."

"Why didn't you stop them!"

"Don't you think I tried? No matter how strong I get, they always one up us… Maybe I can't win, but maybe I can get her back…"

"Do you mean…? That's suicide!"

"I don't care! She's my little sister! I promised Dad I'd always protect her, and I failed. I have to _try, _Trunks. And if I don't come back, then so be it."

"I… I'm coming with you," Trunks decided with a determined face.

"No you are not. You are staying behind and protecting your mother," Gohan said, looking at the sky.

"She's my little sister too! I can't just leave her!"

"And leave your mother behind? No, Trunks. Your duty is to your family."

"_She is my family! _You three are all I have left! She's the closest I'll ever get to a little sister, and you… you're my big brother. We have to watch each other's backs," Trunks said as he placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Please, Gohan. Let me help piece our family back together."

After a moment of silence, Gohan nodded. "Fine. You can come. But like you said, it's suicide…"

"I don't care."

"Well then, let's search the air. I'll go right, you go left. Oh, and Trunks?"

"Yeah?" the purple-haired male turned around slightly.

"I'm sorry."

With that, Trunks' world went black.

OOO

Gohan picked up the fallen body that was his best friend and took to the air.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he said as he started flying. "I can't let you do this. Like you said, it's suicide. You have to stay alive to protect Bulma and Kimiko. I'll make sure to free her for you, at least… If I don't make it, really, I'm sorry. I just care about you and our family too much to let you do this.

"Please, whatever happens… Keep on living. Stay with them. Keep them going, too. You all have to live for me… For Dad, for Vegeta, for Piccolo, for Krillin… for everyone. That's all I ever ask and I'm sure that's all they'd ever ask too. Everything falls on you now, Trunks. It's up to you to be the man of the house. The backbone that holds those two together. They couldn't do it without you."

Gohan, now at Capsule Corp, laid Trunks down in his room and tucked him in bed. "I… love you. I love all three of you. Survive."

He very quickly ran a hand through the seventeen year old's hair and flew out the window, not wanting to chance running into Bulma.

On the bed, tears slowly cascaded down an unconscious Trunks' cheeks.

"Okay, Kimiko… If we both get out of this you're so grounded…" Gohan muttered as he searched for his sister's weak ki signature. "Ah, there you are."

Without hesitation, he sped off, hoping that the androids were with Kimiko.

"Surely they must be with her… Her ki's getting weaker…" He unconsciously sped up as he felt her ki rapidly dropping. "Stay alive, dang it!"

The demi-saiyan flew until he came across a cave. He could hear heavy breathing, chuckling, and gasps emanating from inside.

"I know you know I'm here," he called. "Might as well come out."

"Hello Gohan," Eighteen smiled as she exited the cave, followed by Seventeen who had an unconscious Kimiko situated in her arms. Small cuts were everywhere on her body, but what worried him was the gaping hole in the back of her head. It was rapidly dripping blood and while he knew head wounds bled a lot, it seemed serious.

"Put her down and fight me like a real man," Gohan said. "Just you and me. Let's go."

"Why don't you fight Eighteen first? We have to make sure our dear little Kimiko doesn't bleed out," Seventeen simpered.

"How… how did you figure out her name?"

"Well when you're under a lot of… _pressure_… it's easy to spew information," the android's silky voice replied.

"Then stop her bleeding and fight me so I can avenge my family," Gohan growled.

"Oh dear. You're very determined, aren't you? Very well…" Seventeen untied the orange bandana around his neck and wrapped it tightly around the unconscious female's head. "That should do it, for now…"

"Good. Fight me. You know you want too."

"If you insist…"

The fight didn't last long.

"Well, that was easy," Seventeen said as he kicked the big corpse.

"Easy? I had to step in and kill him myself," Eighteen snorted. "You couldn't have done it on your own."

"…Shush," he muttered. "What should we do with them?"

"Leave them. He's a corpse and she's as good as dead. We might as well pay that blue haired mother of theirs a visit, hmm?"

"Yeah… that would break that purple haired boy for sure. He'd come looking for us in no time."

As the androids flew off, still chatting, Trunks arrived on the scene.

"Gohan? Gohan? Where are you?" he called out frantically. "Gohan? GOHAN!"

The purple haired demi-saiyan dropped down beside his big brother. "No! NO! What did they do to you! Wake up! Stop fooling around and _wake up!_" he beat his fists against the corpse's chest until he could barely see from tears. "Stop joking… Please, be joking…

"Kimiko! Kim-chan! Wake up!" he started on her next, shaking her.

"…Trunks?" she said weakly.

"Kim-chan!" he cried out, hugging her to his chest.

"Trunks… ow, Trunks… my head hurts," she complained.

"Oh… where did this banda- no," he realized. "Why did they-? Oh well, it doesn't matter now."

"Where's nii-chan?" she whispered, struggling to sit up on her own. "I wanna apologize… I've given him so much trouble."

"Gohan… Gohan's dead," Trunks murmured, looking away as fresh tears leaked out of his eyes. "They killed him, Kimiko. They _killed him."_

"No… No… you're lying."

"Look for yourself," he replied while helping her sit up.

"Nii-chan?" she nudged him with her hands. "Get up, Nii-chan… Gohan, sit up. Gohan… _sit up!"_

"He won't sit up, Kimiko. He's dead! He's dead because they… _they killed him!" _

"_You're lying!" _she screamed. "Stop lying to me!"

"I'm not lying, look at the evidence! How could they… they're… they're… _AHHHHHHH!"_

"Trunks… What- Trunks, you're a Super Saiyan!" Kimiko said in awe, taking in the golden hair and teal eyes.

"I'm Super Saiyan?" he said in disbelief as he looked himself over.

"Wow… your power level is through the roof," she said with a trace of envy.

"I bet I could beat the androids with this power," he muttered, inspecting his golden aura before snapping his head up to stare at his companion. "Kimiko. Let's go home."

"Why? Can't we at least bury nii-chan?"

"We have something important to do. I've been thinking…"

"Thinking what?" she asked as she stumbled to her feet, wincing and grabbing her head. Without another thought, he picked her up and allowed her to climb on his back.

"This future may be ruined… but what of the others?" he replied as he blasted off into the sky.

"…Others?"

"The others. The alternate futures. They could be saved. Just because no one's left in this future doesn't necessarily mean they are gone in others."

"That may be, but how are we supposed to get to the other futures?"

"Mom's been working on something for years, before this even transpired—a time machine. With it, we could go to the past, fix everything… We could—"

"See everyone. Vegeta, Krillin, Piccolo, _Dad…" _

"Exactly. We could save them all. The only thing we need is hidden away at home. Before we do anything though, you need to rest and- Kim-chan?"

He craned his neck around to see the girl had fallen fast asleep. He wouldn't have minded so much if she didn't have that wounded that was slowly bleeding through the (once orange) bandana.

"Kimiko? Kim-chan, wake up," he said, nudging her.

"Mmm?" she sighed.

"Stay awake for me until I take care of that head wound, okay?"

"Mkay…"

"How about we get you some new clothes when we get home?" he offered as a conversation starter, trying to get her to stay awake. "Those clothes you have on now aren't very practical for fighting, and they've definitely seen better days."

"Mhmm…."

"We're almost home, Kim-chan. Then you can sleep all you want."

"Nnnn…"

OOO

Trunks landed on the lawn of Capsule Corp and rushed inside, intent on healing his best friend.

What he didn't expect to find was his mother lying in the middle of the floor, half dead.

"Mom? MOM!" he rushed to her side and cradled her in his arms, pressing a hand to the organs trying to spill out of her abdomen.

"Trunks…Where's Gohan and Kimiko…?" she asked weakly.

"Kimiko's right here beside you Mom," he replied, pointing to the curled up figure beside them. "Gohan's… erm… outside. He's patrolling the area to keep us safe."

"Good," she breathed. "Good. He has to keep you two safe… Trunks, you know you have to go back into the past, right?"

"I know, Mom. We're going to and we're going to set things right. You'll have such a nice home, a nice life… You'll have Dad back…"

"That sounds… so nice," the blunette whispered. The life was starting to fade from her eyes. "You know, you look just like your Dad except for the hair… I love you, Trunks. I'm so proud of how far you have come and how far you will go… you will do great things for both this timeline and the past. I'm so, so proud…"

"Mom, stop talking like that, you're scaring me," Trunks said, his voice trembling and tears clouding his eyes. "You're acting like you're leaving me."

"Oh, I'll never truly leave you Trunks. I'll always be in your heart. I promise. Tell Kimiko I love her too, alright?"

"Okay Mom… I love you so much."

"I know, baby. I love you more than you'll know. I'll see you in the past."

When her body fell limp, a piercing heart-breaking scream was borne into the air.

* * *

><p>It's about time I did this! I'm so sorry guys DX Hopefully next update won't take as long.<p>

As you can see, the story has quite a few different plot points already… hopefully it's better than my original version :3

Review, please? Pretty please? :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Even through the Dark, There is Light**

A/N: Sorry guys… I've just been so busy!

So, I'm just going to tell you right now I have NO idea when the next update will be. I have band/drama practices Monday-Thursday, Football games on Fridays, I was just cast as Ophelia in my friend's production of Hamlet so that will be on weekends, I have competitions Saturday, and to top it all off I have AP/regular homework. Oh, and gotta apply for college….

So yeah, that's my life. Hopefully I can catch breaks in between everything and I can write little snippets. No promises. I am in virtual AP Gov right now… I'm ahead so I wrote a little :P

On the upside, my birthday was in September! ^^

Oh, I had no reviews for the last chapter… Well, ONWARD! XD

Disclaimer: I no own DBZ. I'm just a sixteen year old aspiring actress, please don't sue… T.T

Warnings: character deaths and some violence…. Aw :I

* * *

><p>Once Trunks had taken care of Kimiko's head wound, he let her rest.<p>

It was coming up on her thirteenth hour of sleep and she _still _had not awoken.

_What if she never does? _he thought. _What if she leaves me like Gohan…. Like Mom…._

"Kimiko…" Trunks said aloud. "Please… if you can hear me, come back to me. Don't do this to me… to us. I need you. Please…"

"Nnngh…. Trunks?" she muttered as she strirred. "I hurt…"

"Kimiko!" Trunks was immediately upon her. "You're awake! Oh thank Kami… Thank Kami…."

"Trunks…? What's going on?" she asked with a dazed expression as she tried to sit up.

"We… we were attacked," he started out carefully. "Gohan and Mom… they're dead."

"….What?"

"They're dead…. The androids killed them. They killed them, Kimiko!"

Kimiko sensed a fit coming on. "Come on Trunks, calm down. We need to think of a plan of action."

"You're… you're right," Trunks breathed deeply and clenched his fists. "I still hate them…"

"Me too," she nodded. "If I could, I'd tear them limb… from… limb."

* * *

><p>After his outburst, all Trunks could really do was sit there with his companion and stare. Stare at her black oily hair, her thin frame, her gaunt cheeks, into her onyx eyes; anything. He wanted to memorize every part of her. He didn't want to risk losing her again.<p>

She, on the other hand, was _tired. _She wanted to sleep. To sleep and forget everything.

So she did.

And he watched, and he waited. Because he had something to bring up with her. Something that his mother had been working on for all these years.

The time machine of Capsule Corp was ready. They had just been waiting for the right time to bring it out and go back. It was originally supposed to be Kimiko and Bulma that traveled to the past as Gohan and Trunks stayed and protected the world from the androids.

Never did he think he'd have to go back in time. To see his mother, Kimiko's mother, Gohan, Goku… Vegeta.

He was scared. He was scared and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

In fact, he was terrified.

But he was willing to do it. More than willing. Anything to give his family he never met the chance to live peacefully.

OOO

"So… this is the time machine?" Kimiko asked as she stepped into the lab. She rubbed her hands briskly up and down her arms; she was freezing.

"Yes. This is what we will use," he said as he climbed into the pod and started pressing buttons. "Are you ready?"

"Hm? Oh… yes," she said, coming out of a daze.

"Good. Then climb in. It's ready," he said, patting the seat beside him. With a nod, she struggled to climb in—she was wearing Trunks' old clothes and they were terribly baggy—and off they were.

The first thing they saw when they landed was a desert island. What they felt were power spikes.

"I think… I think that's Frieza. And… is that King Cold?" Kimiko asked, sensing the energies.

"Yes," Trunks affirmed. "We need to help them. They seem to be shaking in their boots; I can feel it from here."

"Right!" she nodded and powered up to fly. "Let's go then!"

OOO

The two landed in front of Frieza's ship just as the Z fighters were preparing to fight.

"What?! Who are they?!" Krillin exclaimed.

"I don't know," Vegeta snarled, "But they should get out of my way _now _before I get _really _angry."

The two time travelers ignored him.

"Hello Frieza," Kimiko waved.

"Hey, long time no see," Trunks said casually as he inspected his fingernails.

"You… you should be afraid of me," Frieza growled.

"Mmm, should be but not," Kimiko said, giving a little twirl. "Let's get this over with, right?"

"Yeah, we have dinner reservations at five," the purple haired male quipped, stretching.

"Why you little-"

Frieza never had a chance to finish his sentence.

"Wow… you're weaker than I thought!" the time traveling female bubbled as she sat on top of him.

"Get off me!" he yelled.

"Hm let me think- nahh. I'm comfy," she sing-songed.

"Okay Kimiko, time to stop playing," Trunks chuckled as he pulled his sword from its sheath. "We have to finish him off sometime."

"Oh alright," she pouted as she slowly stood up and offered a hand to Frieza. He smirked and took her hand… but instead of pulling himself up he decided to pull her down.

"Somehow, I expected that," she commented as she was pinned down. The next thing he knew, Frieza had a sword through his gut.

"Nice try," he commented as he slowly pulled his sword out and wiped it clean on the alien.

"_What _is going on here?" King Cold himself had stepped out to play.

"Oh yay! Some real competition!" Kimiko cheered. "Exciting!"

"You will pay for what you did to my son," the King snarled as he powered up.

"Oh man, they're screwed!" Krillin exclaimed from his and Piccolo's hiding place.

"I don't know… Something about them…" the green-skinned one muttered. "I wouldn't count them out just yet…"

"Sure, if that's what you think," Trunks said as he powered up himself. With quicker movements than a normal human could see, he had unsheathed his sword with a satisfying _claaaaaaang. _

"Here Kimiko," he said, throwing a capsule at her. "A little present from me to you."

"Ooooh, what is it?" she asked as she threw the capsule on the ground. Inside was an ordinary wooden bow. "A bow?"

"I know you've been practicing archery, and how to shape your Ki," he explained. "I figured you could, you know, make Ki arrows and kick butt."

"Sure can do!" she giggled as a Ki arrow materialized in her hand. "Prepare to meet your end, King Freiza's Dad!"

"It's King Cold!" he snapped. "However, that sword… it's impressive. May I see it?" he purred towards Trunks.

"Sure," the purple haired male shrugged and threw his sword towards the King.

"What's he doing?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Shut up. The boy knows what he's doing," Vegeta muttered as he watched with his usual scowl and arms crossed.

The King examined the sword before looking up wickedly. "Rule number one… never give your enemy your weapon!" he yelled as he lunged towards the time-traveling teens…

…And was stopped as Trunks grabbed the blade of the sword. A golden aura surrounded him and his hair was blonde and stood on end; his eyes were turquoise.

"…Super Saiyan…" Vegeta breathed. "Who _is _this boy?!"

"Rule number two," the super saiyan stated. "Never underestimate the enemy."

And with that he ducked as a rainbow-colored arrow whizzed out from right behind him and hit King Cold straight in the eye.

"That was fun," the girl stated as the arrow fizzled out of the King and back into her.

"My- my eye!" King Cold shouted as he stumbled around. "What did you do!"

"Oh, she only blinded you with a Ki arrow," Trunks said casually as he plucked his sword from the others' hand. "Don't worry; this'll only hurt a lot."

With a strike to the head, the King was no more.

"Hey guys," Kimiko directed toward the Z Warriors who still stood behind them, dumbfounded. "You can come out of it now; some of his henchmen are still here," she said, pointing towards said henchmen. "Would you like the honor of defeating them?"

"Some honor that is," Vegeta growled as he simply threw a Ki ball in the general direction of the ship. It was blown to smithereens, along with the aliens. "Now tell me, little girl. Who are you?"

"Hey, I'm not little!" she defended. "I'm a whole fifteen years old, you old geezer!"

"Geezer?!" Vegeta fumed. "I'm getting angry!"

"Okay, that's enough," Piccolo intercepted. "Tell us, what is your name and who are you?"

"That's easy; my name is Kimiko and I am half-saiyan!" she sang.

"Enough playing, Kim-chan," Trunks stated from behind her before turning to the others. "If you come with us, we can lead you to where Goku is going to land in exactly… three hours."

"Half-saiyan? But there are none left but Kakarot and I! Kakarot has been missing in action and I have only had one son by that woman Bulmoose!" Vegeta snapped, still hung up on the girl's comment.

"Hey! Do _not _call her Bulmoose, her name is Bulma!" Trunks snapped. Kimiko placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. "I… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted that way. Please, just follow us." With that the two teens started to fly away.

Grumbling, Vegeta made to follow. "Well! Aren't you imbeciles coming!"

"Hey, who are you calling-"

"Shut up Yamcha," Krillin muttered as he and Piccolo took to the air. Scowling, Yamcha followed.

* * *

><p>Super short and crappy chapter is super short and crappy. Once this thing actually kicks off and I have more time, the chapters will increase in length and quality. I'm sorry. Forgive me? *aegyo*<p> 


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